Former England spinner Monty Panesar stated that Virat Kohli is extra just like the legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and has a large fan following.
Virat Kohli of India. Courtesy: Reuters
HIGHLIGHTSMonty Panesar drew Virat Kohli’s parallels with Cristiano RonaldoKohli scored 16 runs in his earlier ODI outing at Lord’sPanesar stated that the England followers have large admiration for Kohli
Former England cricketer Monty Panesar reckoned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to be below stress concerning Virat Kohli’s place within the nationwide group. Of late, the 33-year-old Kohli hasn’t fired on all cylinders and has been struggling to get among the many runs.
Panesar drew parallels of Kohli with legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and stated that each sportsmen have huge fan followings of their careers. Panesar felt that India are persisting with Kohli as leaving the right-hander out might hamper their sponsorship offers.
“It’s like Cristiano Ronaldo. Whenever Ronaldo plays for Manchester United, everyone’s watching football. Virat Kohli is the same. He has got a huge following and attraction,” Panesar was quoted as saying in an interview with the Times of India.
“Are BCCI under pressure too, regardless of whatever the result and role Virat Kohli has to play, to keep the sponsors happy? That’s probably the biggest question. They can’t drop him or afford to drop him because they’ll probably lose huge financial sponsorship,” he stated.
Panesar clearly mentioned that Virat Kohli’s marketability is high and the BCCI needs to be careful while deciding his position in the national setup.
“The difficulty here is that he is the most marketable cricketer in the world. Fans love him a lot. We all just love Virat and his intensity. Sometimes, it’s borderline, but he’s very much admired in England. So, from the BCCI’s perspective, they’ve got to sit down and decide,” Panesar added.
On Thursday, Kohli received off to a good begin within the Lord’s ODI towards England. He smashed left-arm pacer Reece Topley for 3 fours and seemed good to get an enormous rating. But David Willey discovered his exterior edge to chop quick his keep within the center.
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